Dynamic dropdowns in an array - how to reference adjacent field

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Posted on by Ben Lambert

I'm building a custom connector that accepts an array of Country/State objects, where both state and country are dropdowns, and the state is parameterized by the specified country.

In my OpenAPI, I have a LocationList definition that contains the array of Location items. How can I define the parameter reference for the state field so that it uses the country of the current item in the array?

The documentation for x-ms-dynamic-values and x-ms-dynamic-list describes how to reference other parameters in the request body (like body/country_id), but there doesn't seem to be a way to reference other properties within an array parameter?

In other words, how do I express the reference to the country_id parameter in the highlighted text below?

    "LocationList": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "An object that describes the list of locations.",
      "properties": {
        "locations": {
          "type": "array",
          "description": "The list of locations.",
          "x-ms-summary": "Locations",
          "items": {
            "$ref": "#/definitions/Location"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "Location": {
      "type": "object",
      "description": "An object that describes a location.",
      "required": [
        "country_id",
        "state_id"
      ],
      "properties": {
        "country_id": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "The country.",
          "x-ms-summary": "country",
          "x-ms-dynamic-values": {
            "operationId": "ListCountries",
            "value-collection": "items",
            "value-path": "id",
            "value-title": "name"
          },
          "x-ms-dynamic-list": {
            "operationId": "ListCountries",
            "itemsPath": "items",
            "itemValuePath": "id",
            "itemTitlePath": "name"
          }
        },
        "state_id": {
          "type": "string",
          "description": "The state within the specified country.",
          "x-ms-summary": "state",
          "x-ms-dynamic-values": {
            "operationId": "LoadStates",
            "value-collection": "items",
            "value-path": "id",
            "value-title": "name",
            "parameters": {
              "country_id": {
                "parameter": "HOW DO I REFERENCE THE COUNTRY_ID PARAMETER HERE?"
              }
            }
          },
          "x-ms-dynamic-list": {
            "operationId": "LoadStates",
            "itemsPath": "items",
            "itemValuePath": "id",
            "itemTitlePath": "name",
            "parameters": {
              "country_id": {
                "parameterReference": "HOW DO I REFERENCE THE COUNTRY_ID PARAMETER HERE?"
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    },

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trice602 15,404 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hi,

Please try in portion in your code:

"parameters": {
"country_id": {
"parameter": "$.country_id" // Reference to country_id
}

}

------------------------------------------------

⭐ If this was helpful, please like and/or mark as a verified answer to help others find this too!

Always glad to help! 💯💯💯💯💯

Tom

Follow me on LinkedIn - Thomas Rice, PMP | LinkedIn

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Ben Lambert 4 on at

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Thanks for the reply Tom, but I don't think that works (I get the standard error "The parameter could not be found in the operation" when trying to update the connector). I've never seen that $. notation in the OpenAPI for any connector - do you have any docs or examples of that working?

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trice602 15,404 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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Hey there!

I am following up on this post dynamic dropdowns in an array - how to reference adjacent field in this category connector development from 10/24/2024. I know the post is a little older, but it is a common question here so wanted to take a moment and follow-up. I see there have been 2 replies and 1 likes and asking if your question has been answered. If so, please help the community out by completing one or more of the following actions! Thanks in advance!

Easy as 1-2-3 ‼️💯⭐😎🆒🙏

1) Mark a reply as a verified answer - this is essential, and it helps others with the same general question find this thread. ✅

2) You can also mark one of more replies as a verified answer. Please take a moment and give the author credit for volunteering their time. ✌️

3) Like one or more replies. Kudos always greatly appreciated! 👍

Pro tip: if you found your own solution or workaround, feel free to add a reply to your own post and mark it as the solution too! The goal is to get this thread marked with a verified answer by anyone that finds one or more replies helpful!

Again, thanks in advance for reading and responding, always glad to help! Tom 💯💯💯💯💯

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trice602 15,404 Super User 2025 Season 2 on at

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If I can help with anything else please let me know or tag me in a future post, I enjoy reading and answering questions. Always glad to help! Tom 💯💯💯💯💯

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